Definition:Metric System/Length/Kilometre

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Kilometre

The kilometre is a metric unit of length.


Conversion Factors

\(\ds \) \(\) \(\ds 1\) kilometre
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 10\) hectometres
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 100\) dekametres
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 1000\) metres
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 100 \, 000\) centimetres
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 10^6\) millimetres
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 39 \, 370 \cdotp 4\) inches
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 0.621\) miles


Symbol

$\mathrm {km}$

The symbol for the kilometre is $\mathrm {km}$:

$\mathrm k$ for kilo
$\mathrm m$ for metre.

Its $\LaTeX$ code is \mathrm {km} .


Linguistic Note

It is commonplace to pronounce the word kilometre with the stress on the second syllable: kil-o-me-ter.

However, the pronunciation kil-o-me-ter is also heard.


Linguistic Note on Kilo

The prefix kilo- derives from the Greek word χίλιοι (khilioi), which means thousand.


Sources